Policing Risk and Responsibility - A step change in Health and Safety Enforcement

Fines for health and safety breaches injuring police officers

It is still only March, and yet we have already seen two police forces receive fines for health and safety offences involving injuries to police officers

• West Mercia Police was fined £85,800 and ordered to pay just under £10,000 in costs after a HSE investigation of a road traffic accident involving a student officer. HSE found that West Mercia Police failed to do all that was reasonably practicable to manage the risks arising from traffic collisions, as well as insufficient risk assessments and training for its officers. The officer suffered life changing injuries.
• Derbyshire Constabulary was fined £60,000 in January for failing to adequately assess risks posed to officers during a riot training exercise at which several officers were injured.

Regulatory Solicitor, James Camidge, considers that both cases indicate a stepping up of HSE enforcement of health and safety law against police forces, and exposes the reality that the risks officers face can come from a range of police operations, whether during a controlled training environment or in responding to a road traffic collision. 

The West Mercia Police Incident

On Christmas Eve 2023, a 22-year-old student officer was responding to a road traffic collision in Shropshire. The scene was an unlit, single-carriageway road with a 60 mph speed limit. While positioned on a bend to manage traffic flow, the officer was struck by a passing vehicle. The resulting injuries were both life-threatening and life-changing. The HSE Inspector in the case, Keeley Eves said that whilst HSE recognise that officers face “significant and serious danger”, they should not be exposed to unnecessary risks. The HSE determined that West Mercia failed to take reasonably practicable steps to manage the risks associated with traffic collisions. After the incident, the force implemented significant changes by revising their risk assessments, policies procedures and training. However, had these been in place prior to the incident the injury may not have occurred.

In June 2021, the NPCC distributed a series of recommendation reports providing relevant advice on implementing road safety recommendations. This report found that when asked about the main risks to their safety whilst on duty, most officers highlight assault as their primary concern. However, NPCC data suggests that officers are more likely to be harmed in road-related incidents than assaults. Data gathered for the NPCC Officer and Staff Safety Review (OSSR) shows that a disproportionate number of police officers and PCSOs have died as a result of a car or motorcycle accident while responding to incidents, conducting routine patrol, or driving to and from work. These incidents equated to 53% of the total deaths recorded over the considered time period.

Forces should therefore consider how to upskill frontline officers who are expected to conduct duties on the roads and consider how to utilise support from road policing specialists. A comprehensive learning package on the risks in road policing could also be considered. 

The Derbyshire Constabulary incident

HSE’s prosecution of Derbyshire Constabulary in January found that officers were exposed to “significant and avoidable risks” during controlled riot response training, such as no effective safe systems of work with the hazards of petrol reception training and PPE failures. Forces that cannot demonstrate detailed consideration of risks posed to officers will be vulnerable to investigation and prosecution by the HSE. Weightmans can offer bespoke advice to ensure that all potential risks are appropriately considered. 

Comment

Both cases serve as a reminder that forces should consider the risks posed to officers in all aspects of their policing duties to ensure compliance with their health and safety obligations. For senior officers, there is inherent difficulty in assessing risks from dynamic operational scenarios and the training for such scenarios. The HSE’s own “striking the balance” guidance (Application of health and safety law to the Police Service - HSE) recognises the testing and difficult circumstances in which officers are called to act. This guidance advises that forces consider the wider legal and regulatory landscape and develop robust and carefully considered risk assessments.

The legal landscape for police health and safety is becoming increasingly complex. The West Mercia prosecution highlights that even seemingly lower risk policing activity, such as traffic direction, requires the same level of rigorous risk assessment as more urgent operational responses. HSE’s “striking the balance” guidance explicitly states that risk assessments should be non-bureaucratic but carefully considered. To mitigate these risks and avoid the heavy costs of prosecution, forces should ensure that training exercises and road traffic responses are properly risk assessed as well as the risk of police assaults. 

Weightmans has a wealth of experience in advising police forces on their health and safety obligations to promote compliance and avoid the significant financial penalties associated with a successful prosecution.